A conventional electrical connector is disclosed in the specification of Japanese UM Publication No. 58470/88 in which a latching member is provided as a means to latch electrical terminals inserted in a plurality of terminal-receiving cavities in a housing to prevent the terminals from slipping out in the direction opposite to the insertion of such terminals. More in detail, the latching member includes flexible latching arms to be inserted in the housing. The latching member is designed to move with respect to the housing between a primary position to a secondary position. In the primary position, terminals may be inserted into respective terminal-receiving cavities. In the secondary position, latching-projection sections of latching arms are moved into engagement with the inner ends of the electrical contact sections at intermediate positions of the terminals inserted in the terminal-receiving cavities. This acts to prevent each terminal from slipping out in the direction opposite to the insertion of such terminal.
However, in such a prior art connector, it requires a relatively strong pushing force to insert the latching arms into the housing to move the latching-projection sections of the latching arms into engagement with the terminals inserted into the terminal-receiving cavities. The reason is that the portions adjacent to the latching projections are forced to be deformed downwardly by sloped surfaces of the upper walls of the terminal-receiving cavities. Also, such forceful insertion is not easy and may cause fatigue and permanent deformation of the latching arms. Moreover, since means for maintaining primary and secondary latching positions are formed at both sides of the latching member and the housing, the secondary latching of the latching member to the housing becomes insufficient at a central part of the connector in its longitudinal direction if the connector is a multi-terminal type and elongated. This, in turn, may cause the latching arms in the central portions to operate improperly.
It is therefore an object of the present invention that the latching arms of the latching member latch the respective terminals in the terminal-receiving cavities without forcing the latching arms to deform in the terminal-receiving cavities. Also, the latching member is positioned at different locations of the housing for the primary and secondary latching positions. In other words, the primary latching means are located at both sides of the housing and latching member while the secondary latching means are located at upper and bottom sections, preferably at the central parts of the housing and the latching member.